Gaming machines providing games such as electronically driven games including video slot, video poker, video blackjack, video keno, video bingo, video pachinko, video lottery, and mechanically spinning reel slot games, etc., are well known in the gaming industry. Also well known, is the fact that preventing cheating and ensuring fair play of the games are crucial to the gaming industry. As a result, in virtually all jurisdictions, there are varied but stringent regulatory restrictions regarding gaming machine configurations, including gaming parameters and software, and gaming machine security. Accordingly, upon deliver and installation of a gaming machine, an operator (e.g., a casino operator) is required to follow regulated set-up procedures prior to enabling gaming machine play.
Because current gaming machines typically provide gaming software via non-volatile memory (e.g., electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROMs), battery-backed non-volatile static access random access memory (NVRAM), etc.), the set-up procedure begins with a “RAM clear” to erase information stored within the non-volatile memory. The RAM clear is generally executed by an operator technician using a specialized RAM clear compact flash (or similar memory device) and an administrator touch screen display provided on the gaming machine. Performance of the RAM clear ensures that the gaming machine is configured in a known state prior to loading values for critical, one-time settable game configuration parameters such as pay table percentages, coin acceptor/hopper denomination, pay line selection options, gaming machine serial number, ticket printer enable and type, SAS protocol number, etc. Upon completion of the RAM clear, the game configuration parameters and associated parameter values defining game play are selected by the operator and the operating system software and gaming software are installed in the gaming machine.
Typically, the operator has flexibility in selecting and combining some, but not all of the individual parameter values for gaming machine set-up. For example, in the case of a slot machine offering one game theme having multiple game denominations, the operator may have an option to combine each of the game play denomination values with multiple payback percentages but with only one maximum pay line value (e.g. 9 maximum pay lines). Thus, each game play denomination is associated with the same maximum pay line value (e.g., a $0.01 game denomination associated with a 91% payback percentage and with a 9 maximum pay line value, a $0.25 game denomination associated with a 94% payback percentage and with a 9 maximum pay line value, etc). This is due in part to the fixed configuration of traditional mechanical button panels having, for example a 1 maximum pay line button, a 3 maximum pay line button, a 5 maximum pay line button, a 7 maximum pay line button and a 9 maximum pay line button. As a result, the operator does not have the flexibility to provide the player with different gaming experiences (via different probability tables) on a single themed gaming machine having multiple game denominations because, although the operator can select from among varying payback percentages, the operator cannot select from among varying the maximum pay line values during gaming machine set-up.
Further, if the available parameter values are improperly selected by the operator, the resulting parameter value combinations may give rise to a poor game play experience for the player and therefore yield lower revenues for the operator. For example, in the case of a slot machine offering a single themed game having multiple game denominations, the operator may combine selected parameters values to configure the slot game with a 3 maximum pay line value, a $0.01 game denomination and a 94% payback percentage from among a $0.01, a $0.05, and a $0.25 game denomination, a 3, a 5, or a 9 maximum pay line value, and a 92%, a 94%, and a 96% payback percentage. That is, the operator selects one parameter value combination out of a possible 27 parameter value combinations. As a result of the selection of a low denomination (i.e., $0.01) in combination with the low maximum number of pay lines (i.e. the 3 maximum pay line value), the game play experience may not be optimal from the player's perspective and the gaming machine therefore, may yield a low revenues for the operator.